Blinn College students, employees donate 570 pounds of food to the Brazos Valley Food Bank

Blinn-Bryan’s Office of Student Leadership and Activities sparks widespread donation effort

December 5, 2017

Blinn College students, faculty, and staff have come together to provide meals for those in need this holiday season.

For the second consecutive year, the Office of Student Leadership and Activities (SLA) at the Blinn College-Bryan Campus sparked a widespread donation effort involving various campus programs. In just two weeks, SLA collected 570 pounds of nonperishable food items to donate to the Brazos Valley Food Bank in Bryan.

“This is a great opportunity for Blinn College students to directly impact their community,” Student Activities Coordinator Lane King said. “Our student organizations continuously volunteer their time and resources to make this college and community a better place.”

The Office of Student Leadership and Activities at Blinn provides opportunities for students to nurture their personal growth and development outside of the academic environment. SLA oversees more than 80 student organizations encompassing a wide range of interests designed to promote individual growth, social responsibility, and leadership development. SLA coordinates major campus events with student organizations and campus departments and programs.

Blinn’s Radiologic Technology and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) programs were among the largest contributors to this year’s food drive. Collectively, the two programs donated 485 pounds of nonperishable food items to the cause.

“Donating food items is such a simple task yet makes such a great impact on the community,” Radiologic Technology Instructor Warren Parker said. “I challenged my students to give what they could, and they rose to the occasion in a big way.”

This is the second year for the EMS Program to partner with SLA for its holiday collection effort. The program also hosts its own food drive each semester to help feed hungry families year-round.

“It is really important to give back to the community that we serve,” EMS Instructor Kimberly Decker said. “As EMS students, they understand the importance of public service and are always eager to help those in need in any way they can.”

Blinn’s commitment to serving the community has not gone unnoticed. Last year, the College was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest accolade an educational institution can receive from the federal government for its commitment to community, service learning and civic engagement.

In 2015, Blinn was recertified with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching’s Carnegie Classification, which places Blinn among the nation’s top 5 percent of colleges and universities in terms of documented public service. The Carnegie Classification, reassigned every five years, is the leading framework for recognizing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education for the past five decades.

Blinn’s Service Learning Program, which combines community service with classroom instruction and student club activities, focuses on critical, reflective thinking, and civic responsibility to engage students. Blinn’s Service Learning activities include the Dental Hygiene Program’s annual Give Kids a Smile event in Bryan, which provides exams, X-rays, cleanings, sealants and oral health education to local children without access to regular dental care; EMS, vocational nursing and associate degree nursing students volunteering at local clinics and hospitals; natural science students volunteering at local animal shelters; agricultural students working with Texas Parks and Wildlife and 4-H organizations; and social sciences students volunteering at local Democratic and Republican headquarters.

Registration for Blinn’s Winter Minimester, which runs Dec. 15-22 and Jan. 3-10, is available through Dec. 14, and registration for the Spring semester is open through Monday, Jan. 15. College officials encourage early registration for convenient scheduling and placement in high-demand courses.

For enrollment or financial aid information, visit www.blinn.edu.